Store owners support pot-infused edible testing

CHIEFTAIN PHOTO/FILE
Michael Stetler, owner of Marisol Therapeutics, in August renewed his permit for a well using a substitute water supply to grow marijuana.

BY JEFF TUCKER
The Pueblo Chieftain

Published: May 3, 2014;Last modified: May 3, 2014 04:00AM

New requirements for measuring the potency of marijuana-infused edibles went into effect this week and local retailers seem pleased with the concept.

The practice may be another matter.

Mike Stetler, whose Marisol Therapeutics manufactures its own edibles sold in the store, said his business has been getting its products tested since it started putting the items on the shelves.

“We’re already in the fold for all of that,” Stetler said.

He said he and new business partner Tommy Chong were recently discussing the importance of labeling and letting consumers know what they’re getting when they purchase edibles.

The new state law limits the amount of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, to 100 milligrams per edible.

But in limiting the potency of the items, the state also is creating regulations for the labs that test the items, and some manufacturers have expressed concern that the limited number of endorsed laboratories will slow production and sale of the edibles.

Stetler expressed some frustration Friday that the regulations were implemented so quickly.

“They put everything in place, like, right away,” Stetler said. “Then they expect us to follow the guidelines a month after.”

Stetler suggested the regulations were reactionary to public accounts of extreme marijuana intoxication from eating edibles, including the story of a college student falling to his death from a Denver hotel balcony.

Edibles don’t deliver THC to the brain in the same way as smoking joints or bowls.

It tends to take a little longer to get high and people who aren’t aware of that eat more than they should and get much higher than they anticipated.

“We absolutely talk about that all the time,” said Rick Hooper, manager at The Spot, comparing eating a whole brownie to downing a bottle of liquor.

“We tell them to use caution,” he said. “Use common sense. Are you going to drink a whole bottle of Crown Royal?”

Stetler said his company is working on a brochure explaining edibles and works to make sure plenty of information is available on their packaging about potency and affect.

“We’ve got to have guidelines to establish for the consumption by the public,” he said. “If you go to buy any food for consumption, they have labels.”

Hooper said The Spot doesn’t have a kitchen operation yet, but the business plans to open one soon.

He also welcomes the testing and labeling.

“The better everything is checked out and looked at, the better it is for everybody,” Hooper said.

Hooper said the edibles sold in his store have been a popular product for medical marijuana customers.

Some of the items sold already are divided into smaller doses and most packing is child proof. He said many people use them to deal with pain or to sleep more soundly.

His recreational customers still tend to buy smokeable marijuana, he said, but the edibles are an option.